


Liberation

by Cynical_Internet



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Ace Sabo Luffy Being Brothers, Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Different Devil Fruit Sabo, Dragon Trains Sabo, Minor Original Character(s), POV Sabo (One Piece), Sabo Centric, Sabo Never Forgets, Sabo Remembers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14092272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynical_Internet/pseuds/Cynical_Internet
Summary: In which, Sabo never forgets his brothers or his past, causing his life to turn out quite differently. Will include ASL brother fluff.





	1. Chapter 1

The pain was erupting from all over his body, a horrible, relentless, burning pain that even in his sleep didn't fade at all. It was at the point where Sabo wasn't even sure if he was sleeping – who other than Luffy would manage to sleep through torture that great? He couldn't even bring himself to open his eyes. They were clenched closed, as if to open them, would just cause the burning to spread.

"He's got a strong will for one so young." Sabo heard a woman murmur from next to him.

"If he pulls through, he'll be an excellent addition to the cause." A smooth, deep voice concurred, ignoring the borderline amused snort he got for it.

"Do you ever think of anything else?"

The voice replied in an extremely dry timbre, "Sometimes I think about how horrible my life would be if my father actually managed to get his way when he attempted to beat me into submission with Fists of Love."

Despite his pain, and being barely conscious, Sabo cringed at the very thought of one of Gramps’ “Fists of Love.”

...

...

...

"W-W-Wh..ere...a-am...I...?" Sabo managed to croak out of his dry and underused throat. It felt like he'd been in this bed for years, and Sabo could only just now feel the pain starting to fade, even if it was the barest amount. One of his eyes was open a slit, the other he dare not move for fear of pain.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what he assumed was the nurse that had been taking care of him.

"That will be answered later." The nurse cutely said, but there was a smile on her face as she saw her patient starting to show improvement, "I'll be asking you a few questions to get a better understanding for your current state. I'd prefer verbal answers, so please try to stay awake and use your voice whenever possible."

"Y-yes..." Sabo muttered, mind whirling.

Just where was he? Where was his brothers, his father and mother, Goa and Grey Terminal? He winced as he tensed himself as his thought process started getting deeper and deeper, even as his memories seemed farther and farther away.

"What's your pain like at the moment? On a scale of one to ten, one being next to nothing, ten being the worst pain you've felt in your life."

"Nine and a half." Sabo managed, and the fact it wasn't a ten was only because the pain had been worse even a matter of hours ago.

"We'll immediately start you on heavier pain meds then." The nurse mused, and there was sympathy in her eyes for the child in so much pain, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"My brothers were in trouble... Grey Terminal was going to burn and I told someone. I don't remember who. They said they would help?... Sorry, it's just so fuzzy..." Sabo half stated and half asked. The memories were falling through his fingers like water and it felt like Sabo had to fight for everything he tried to pull up in his mind.

"I see... Dragon-sama will be with you soon to discuss your current... living situation and what can be done moving forward." The nurse finally said, leaving the room, not that Sabo was really paying attention; he was too busy trying to keep the memories of his which were trying to escape like liquid through fisted hands.

He didn't even notice when an imposing man walked into the room, silent as the breeze,

"Outlook Sabo, my name is Monkey D. Dragon." The man stated suddenly, and though he was speaking in low tones, there was something about the intonation that made you want to pay attention to what he was saying, forcing you to want to remember it. Yet, Sabo ignored that in favour of an anchor, a piece that reminded him of his little brother.

"Monkey D... LUFFY! My brother, he's my brother, he was in Grey Terminal, or around it, is he okay?!" Sabo suddenly sat up, the memories no longer liquid but now solid as a rock. If his little brother was in danger, he wouldn't be forgetting anything, and the pain certainly wouldn't stop him.

Dragon showed no signs of shock as the injured child had shot up in a panic. He'd known that the child was strong ever since they first spoke, strong not only in mind but also in will. The fact that the child was claiming Luffy as his brother was a bit of a surprise, considering Dragon would think he'd remember having a stubborn blonde child, but the idea that this kid and his son were sworn brothers nearly put a smile on his face. His son certainly had a good choice in family members, if nothing else.

"My son's brother, huh?" Dragon spoke aloud, "He's fine, I checked in on him before I left. He was with the Portgas child with some mountain bandits, mourning a person I now assume is you."

"They think I'm dead?!" Sabo yelped out, before stilling his body as the discomfort started to flood back under the realization his brothers were okay.

"I suppose this means you have a choice in front of you. Originally, I was going to offer you a place with me, to be a part of the Revolutionary Army. Seeing as how you are a brother of my son, and you do have family in Goa you care about, we can bring you back before we go too far." Dragon offered, and if it wasn't for the fact that this was his son’s brother, there was no way he'd offer to go all the way back to Goa. It was more likely that he would drop him off on some random island where he could fashion himself a free life.

Revolutionary Army? The nobles whispered about it in disgust. They had talked about the daring, dangerous man who runs it, who wanted to change what they viewed as a perfect world. Sabo wanted it too, he wanted to face against the people who raised him, to change this world for the better. He wanted to make the world better for his little brothers (even though Ace was older than him, Sabo was definitely the older brother in action). At the same time, Sabo wanted to be there for Ace and Luffy, he had made up his mind to travel with Luffy's crew just before his father had locked him back away. He'd been looking forward to coming back when Luffy was seventeen so that they could reunite under one flag.

"I would love to join you." Sabo managed, trying to ignore the pain that was starting to come back to him, "I believe in your cause, without a doubt, and I want to help. But when Luffy turns seventeen I plan to join him. If that's okay with you?"

Dragon hid a smile under the hood of his cloak. Yes, his son really did have a dependable family, "I'm sure we can work something out. Heal fast, you have training to undergo."

...

...

...

When Sabo had first actually got an inventory of his injuries, it had horrified him. Living with nobility had taught him that any imperfection was considered ugly, and though it was only a little bit around his eye, the entirety of the left side of his torso had been practically melted.

The skin that grew back would be new, hard, and inflexible, not to mention painful for a long time, if not forever.

It was the first time since he had left his brothers that Sabo felt fear.

He was allowed into a wheelchair soon after he learned the extent of his injuries; apparently, he was healed enough to start to make some movements, though he should avoid twisting or even moving his left side as much as possible.

He looked out a window into the distance. He was not on Dawn Island anymore, which was clear enough with a look. There was no vegetation at all, just uneven slabs of rock that seemed to be completely covered in salt. It started to sink in. Despite the fact that Sabo was away from his brothers, he was off of Goa. He was away from that constricting world, and that realization felt absolutely  _liberating_.

...

...

...

_Dearest Brothers_

_This is awkward, but I lived! I was told that you were mourning me, but I was saved after my boat was shot down. The man who saved me offered me the chance to join his organization against the nobles, and I said yes. I'm starting my journey early, but no matter what, we swore that we were brothers. The ocean won't separate us._

_Luffy, I have something to ask you when you turn seventeen. I'll send you a snail around then so that we can talk._

_Tell Dadan that she really is a hag among hags! But also that I am grateful for her letting me stay._

_Oh, and please don't mention me to Gramps. Let him think I'm dead. It's far better than what he would do to me if he realized who exactly I joined. Please, this might save my life – or at least my brain from being scrambled._

_Sincerely, Sabo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: The other day I read this story that portrayed Sabo in a way that I absolutely loved and it really inspired me to write my own Sabo story. In this one, Sabo remembers his brothers and has plans to someday join up with Luffy and be a part of his crew. I plan to make it really slow burning though, so I will have Sabo growing up and going through his childhood before he goes to meet up with his brother.
> 
> Beta Read by Iai-gami on Fanfiction.net as of 03/4/2018


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:**  In the last chapter I changed it so that Dragon didn't introduce himself by his full name. The reason he admits to Luffy being his son and the connection there being made is now only because Sabo asked after his little brother, and Dragon feels no need to hide it as Sabo is his sons family. A family who, very clearly cares about Luffy, at that. This makes more sense for Dragon's character and was pointed out by Awareness Bringer via review. Thanks again Awareness Bringer!

My ultimate goal for Sabo is to be a troll, who people somehow still think is polite because of how subtle it is. Not sure if I'll be able to pull it off, but we'll just have to see how my Sabo evolves I suppose.

_Answer me this, yes or no, along with reasons: (None of this will come into play for a very long time)_

1.) Devil Fruit for Sabo?  **(POLL ON PROFILE REGARDING DEVIL FRUIT VOTE IF INTERESTED)**  2.) Conquerors Haki for Sabo?

...

...

...

When someone told Sabo to walk, with a typical amount of childishness, he felt the need to rebel and  _run_.

"Do not undo my hard work. Gentle stretching only, walk only with the crutches, and change the bandages every day for at least another week before you remove them permanently." The nurse who had been treating him for the last week or so cautioned.

Sabo had painstakingly put his clothing on. Someone had to have repaired it because there were no signs of burns or scorching through the blue ensemble. The top hat was placed onto his head, using his right hand, not wanting to aggravate his left side more than necessary. He turned his head up to look at his nurse before he grinned, "I wouldn't disobey the woman who took such good care of me. I really appreciate everything you've done, I can't thank you enough."

"Of course, that is my job." She mentioned, and the second she looked away, Sabo walked out of the room.

He left his crutches behind.

Walking through the building was an interesting experience. It was a mix of feelings. On one hand, it felt like it was extremely high tech and put together, on the other hand, it felt like people had made this building last minute, the salt from the outside lightly coated the floor despite what seemed to be the Revolutionaries best efforts to keep it outside. The lack of polish that the place had to it was reminiscent to the sort of feeling he had when he was staying with Dadan and his brothers, or when he ran away from High Town to live in Grey Terminal.

It felt like the opposite of what the nobles would like, which made Sabo wholly fall in love with it by default.

Walking was more of a struggle than it should be, Sabo noticed but didn't allow his wobbly legs or side burning in pain to bother him, and if he was breathing deeper from the effort, he hid it extremely well.

There were several different rooms lined throughout the base, rooms that Sabo didn't want to enter for fear of stumbling upon something secret. After all, that was exactly what this organization was, a military operation.

It took awhile, far more walking than Sabo would have been capable of with such an injury where he a normal child, but eventually there was someone who wasn't occupied in a room by work.

Sabo hadn't seen like this before, at least not personally. Though there were stories and rumours.

He had lightly yellow skill with brown spots lining his forehead, purple hair long and cascading down his back. Around his chin was a frill, that sort of looked like the sort of fin you would expect on a fish. On the sides of his neck were what Sabo could recognize to be gills, but they were farther spaced out than they would be on an actual fish. He was muscular as well, built like a fighter, though not one who looked overly large.

In other words, the man before him was a Fishman.

The nobles in High Town would sometimes talk about them, and the richer ones? The richer ones owned them, though they were never let out of the house for fear of them attempting to gain freedom.

"Excuse me, sir, do you think you could help me out?" Sabo mentioned, bowing his head lightly, "I just came out of the hospital and I'm looking for where exactly I'm supposed to reside."

"You're that kid that we picked up in Goa, right?" The Fishman spoke, his voice deep with a warble to it that Sabo hadn't ever hard in a human.

"That would be me." Sabo concurred and tried his best to not show the fascination he was currently experiencing when looking at the species in front of him.

"You're the talk of the base, child." The Fishman admitted, "Outlook Sabo, a noble apparently turning revolutionary after being shot down by a Tenryūbito. Most people have their eyes on you, though their reasoning varies. I'm Hack, I teach recruits here Fishman Karate, as well as being a commander who takes orders directly from Dragon-san."

"I am pleased to meet you, Hack-san." Sabo intoned, his voice which was usually cheeky, falling into a more instinctual, learned polite tone that not even years in Grey Terminal had broken.

"You won't think so once training starts." Hack mentioned off-handedly, "I certainly won't be going easy on you because of your background –"

"I certainly wouldn't expect someone who has been judged by nobles for years as inferior to judge me based on my own background, of course, it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong." Sabo interrupted, beaming at the Fishman as though he hadn't just been astonishingly rude and interrupted someone who was essentially his superior officer.

Hack narrowed his eyes, and was it Sabo's imagination, or did the gills around his neck look clamped down in aggravation, "You'll be an obstinate one, I can tell. Dragon-san likes that type though. Come with me, I'll show you to your room."

Hack turned on his heel and started to walk onward, leaving Sabo to take steps larger than he would have liked to keep up. It was painful, but there was no way Sabo was going to ask the man to slow down. First impressions were everything, and if you flubbed one than the other person would never forget.

They walked for a few minutes, Sabo had to wonder just how large this compound was before Sabo was lead to a room holding three others, a total of four beds in it, and each of them had a desk. The area was already an improvement to the way he lived in Grey Terminal and with Dadan, and Sabo was actually suitably impressed. Ultimately he had thought there would be even more people in each room, after all, there was assumedly a whole army staying in this base.

Perhaps the base was even larger than Sabo thought, and he'd already thought it was pretty impressive.

"These will be your roommates. Now that you are out of the hospital, you will be given a schedule." Hack explained, "We have teachers here to get the undereducated members up to speed, as well as the combat courses and such. After a few months, we should have a better idea of where we need to place you and how to best sort out how to make you into the best asset for this organization."

Sabo turned his back to his new roommates in favour of looking up at the fish man's face. This guy really was all business in the moment, Sabo wasn't a fan of that type of person, but he could appreciate it, "Thank you for your help. I'll be sure to find my place."

Hack's eyes tracked over Sabo, his roommates, and the whole room before he nodded and turned around, walking out and closing the door behind him with a snap and one last comment, "I'll tell the other commanders that you've been placed. Welcome to the Revolutionary Army."

Sabo turned toward his new roommates with a friendly smile, his teeth sneaking through it, and the missing tooth making it overly childish compared to the maturity he'd shown in his dealings with Hack, "Please take care of me~!"

They were a little bit older than him, perhaps a few years, but those few years were the ones that counted. They were going through or already having gone through, puberty, and they easily towered above him as they stood up and gave Sabo considering looks.

The lot of them had dark hair and dark eyes, the typical look for those who were in the East Blue, especially around the Goa Kingdom. Luffy and Ace had inherited their looks from their East Blue ties, surely enough. Blonde was more likely in the North Blue, where one of Sabo's grandparents had come from. The trio also had a darker tone of skin, again, likely a gene, as the people of the East Blue were easier to tan. Other than that, they just seemed pretty average for their age, other than one of them being far more chubby than he should be for working toward becoming part of an army.

"You're that Outlook kid, huh?" One of them muttered, and his disgust was clear.

Sabo was struck by a moment of inspiration. Sure enough, he wasn't attached to his last name. In fact, he willingly hated it with the same passion that he hated his father. If there was one thing that people in the Revolutionary Army would understand, it was the want to cut ties with the nobles.

"Just Sabo, if you would. I hate my father, and I want nothing to do with the man. Even the sound of my last name is disgusting to me. I would legally drop it, were it allowed." Sabo said, though the words weren't a lie, the manipulation that he was using was certainly subtle. Fitting for someone who was raised by nobles – but if he could use it to his advantage against the ones that taught him Sabo wouldn't disparage the skill.

The three looked at Sabo, before glancing at one another. Sabo didn't move, just stood there with a small smile on his face and let them make their judgment.

"In that case, welcome to Baltigo, Sabo."

"Psshh... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for welcoming me." Sabo replied with a relieved laugh, and yes, he kept smiling even under the pain of his side jostling, "So, what are your names?"

"I'm Veni."

"Cenro."

"Ferveno, nice to meet you, Sabo-kun." The most chubby member spoke up, clearly more polite than his other friends, "The bed in that corner is yours, and the desk at the foot of the bed is the one you were assigned."

"Thank you," Sabo replied gratefully, striding over and sitting down gently, relief filling him as he finally got the strain off his wounds and the delicate newly formed skin.

"Oi, how did you get that scar?" Cenro asked, and unlike Ferveno, he didn't even make a token attempt at being polite.

It reminded Sabo of Ace, and that sent a sting right through his heart. The only thing stopping him from going to Dragon and begging him to go back to the East Blue was, well, he didn't know where Dragon was, but also the fact that Luffy and Ace would look out for one another. Luffy wouldn't allow Ace to get caught within himself, and Ace certainly wouldn't let Luffy experience the pain of being alone anymore.

So instead, Sabo got to look at the stranger, his new nakama, and brag about a rather badass story, "A Tenryūbito targetted me a few weeks ago. I was setting out to become a pirate after finally escaping the hell that my father put me through when he came up to my boat and shot a bazooka at me. If I was any weaker a person, I certainly would have been struck dead on impact..."

Sabo continued to tell the tail, his right arm gesturing to his audience as he spoke, though his left stayed by his side. Maybe it was a bit childish to brag about how Dragon, the Revolutionaries version of a superhero, had personally saved Sabo. But the looks of awe that he was graced with as he detailed and embellished the story were far too good to pass up.

So this was the start of his adventure. Not as a pirate as he'd dreamed, but at least for now, as a revolutionary, Sabo could not only be free but also do some good.

...

...

...

_Hello Ace, Luffy_

_I finally got out of the hospital, funny story that, I think I'll keep it to myself. I was given a bunk with these three jokers. They were easy to make my friends, fell for my bullshit hook line and sinker! Of course, I didn't lie to them, just twisted it around a little bit, not that either of you would understand that, straightlaced as you are. Especially Luffy, god knows that his inability to lie will do him it at one point._

_Good thing I'll be joining his crew then._

_It's too bad that you guys can't write back, but I've decided that I'll write to you guys whenever I can. Of course, I can't give you a lot of information, nothing that would be dangerous to the operation, but I can still tell you about my life to a point. Of course, there is someone who reads the mail before it leaves, so most people decide that it's better to just not send mail. I wouldn't leave my brothers like that!_

_Alright, so I guess I did leave you guys, I know that Ace's expression right there was about to call me out on bullshit._

_Still, you're my brothers, and I know that secretly sappy Ace is totally thinking that no matter the distance, we aren't really separated._

_He's probably also looking for a hug, so be certain to give him one whenever you possibly can Luffy. It will help him be less grumpy, trust me. You know that your big brother wouldn't lie to you._

_Until my next letter, take care of one another_

_Sincerely, Sabo_

Sabo grinned fully, teeth and all, as he finished the letter, though he did make sure that his actions were too quiet for his sleeping roommates to hear. He almost wished that he could see Ace's face as he read the letter to his brother, knowing that because of the morals the other tried to hide, he wouldn't edit it, and would soon start to get a few Luffy hugs in the least opportune time.

Even ocean's away, Sabo could still mess with his brothers, and with that, he felt more at home than he had in weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:**  I planned to wait a bit longer before releasing this chapter, but I kind of want both of my One Piece stories to be on the same chapter count, it feels more satisfying that way, so that I can release the new material all at once. Still, I think this might be the strongest chapter in this story that I've written thus far. Which is saying something because I still think it's pretty weak. Regardless, I still had a lot of fun writing it, so there is that. I made a poll talking about whether or not Sabo should have a devil fruit, you can feel free to vote there, or let me know your opinion in review form. What you say may shape the story in some way, so let me know. I have a few ideas for shipping Sabo, but nothing solid, or even if I want to at all, leave your opinion for that as well.

_Answer me this, yes or no, along with reasons: (None of this will come into play for a very long time)_

_1.) Devil Fruit for Sabo?( **Check Profile for Poll** ) _2.) Conquerors Haki for Sabo?  _3.) What ship, if any, do you want for Sabo?_

...

...

...

It hadn't been more than a week before Sabo had fallen into a pretty solid schedule. It was an interesting way to live, after being so wild and free to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted for so long. Still, even Sabo had to admit, that it was under this sort of structure that he thrived.

Schooling was the first thing that started up, as Sabo was still considered too unwell to be doing any fighting.

Simply put the educational system was... Lacking for him. It wasn't to say that it was bad, it just wasn't difficult enough, nor did it advance fast enough, to give Sabo trouble. He'd quickly taken to sleeping in the classroom and studying beyond the scope of his classes once he got back to his room. His teachers surely had a bad impression of him, thinking ill as he fell asleep in classes, but Sabo used his nights to study, so it evened out. Baltigo didn't lack for resources when it came to knowledge. There were books on everything from the basics, all the way to the some of the hardest subjects like advanced maths and navigation.

Something the classes did highlight, however, was just how much education Sabo had missed when he ran away to Grey Terminal.

That didn't slow the determined Sabo down at all though, he was determined to close that gap in a matter of months, and advance beyond that soon after.

Veni, Cenro, and Ferveno had quickly become what Sabo had always imagined nakama to be like. They were friendly with one another, helping each other out when the others needed it. Though Sabo wasn't as connected to the trio as they were to one another, that didn't mean that they weren't close.

"Sabu-kun, why are you always sleeping in class but studying in our room?" Ferveno asked one night.

Sabo grinned at his friend, "I'm a fast learner, the teachers are a bit too slow for me."

"Oi, Sabo, do you think you could, could, like, tutor us if you're so good at it!" Cenro asked, though his tone was harsh and it sounded more like a demand.

Sabo stared at Cenro for a moment with a blank expression.

"Pshhh...Ha... Hahahahahaha~! Sure thing Cenro!" Sabo agreed with a laugh, though he did try to muffle from escaping.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, BASTARD?!" Cenro roared.

Sabo fell to the ground in stitches as he shook with powerful laughter, "HAHAHAHAHA~! Ha... hahaha... Sorry, it's just, you reminded me so much of my brother, Ace. He had the same shy way of asking for things."

"I wasn't being shy!" Cenro denied, turning his head to the side as a flush came to his cheeks.

Sabo sat up, light with laughter and memories, as well as the awe-inducing realization that when he'd fallen to the ground right then, there was no pain. Sure, it hadn't been comfortable on the stiff skin, but sure enough, there was no burning pain that he'd come to associate with the injury.

If Cenro's continued denials caused the laughter of all three of them eventually, it was something Sabo could have predicted. After all, that's how things went with his brothers too. Ace would be shy about something, Sabo would point it out, Ace would deny, and before long, the three were laughing together like they always were.

...

...

...

Don't ask Sabo how it came about, but the next day he was put into the combat training classes.

He had a near suspicion that one of the trios told a higher up, but it seemed unlikely. It seemed far more likely that there was some sort of spying system in place to make sure there were no traitors. Of course, it could have been the nurse being on point about when he would be fully healed, but that also didn't seem right. Sabo healed far faster than a normal person, and that made his healing time difficult to predict. Regardless, he was in the lessons now, and though he wanted to understand how it came to be, didn't lessen his excitement.

To say that he was hyped up to start fighting after being so stationary for so long would be an understatement.

This lesson was also the first time that he'd seen Hack since the time he had shown Sabo to his room.

"You will start each lesson off by running back and forth between the compound and that slab on the far side. Keep doing this until you feel like you've reached your limit, after which, you will stretch your muscles to avoid unnecessary strain and injury. Get to that, and soon enough, we will start the lesson." Hack greeted them with, all business in his demeanour.

The class' students were a motley crew.

The trio was there, but they were peppered in with people of all ages and walks of life. A few Fishman here and there, a Longneck, if Sabo remembered correctly, men, woman, children if there was a type of person that existed, they seemed to have some representation. It really put into perspective the scope of the wound the World Government was creating. Among the students, pretty much everyone was exasperated at the idea of running around like that.

Sabo was grinning like a loon, elated.

So when Hack said go, Sabo took off.

His speed was lower than it used to be, he noticed immediately. There was a pulling sensation around the scars on his torso as well, something that Sabo had been expecting, and thus wasn't worried about. Still, he could tell what a pain it would be to work that area back into shape. Sabo tagged the slab and turned on his heel, running back to the compound, and he wasn't done, turning back to run toward the slab, only to realize something.

The rest of them hadn't even reached the slab for the first time when Sabo was heading for his second go.

Maybe it was a bit arrogant to think, but we're they all really that weak compared to him?

Luffy had done better, and he was seven.

"Really...?" Sabo muttered to himself.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Sabo starting to continue making the required rounds, and he didn't stop until everyone else did, taking the time after that to stretch. Sabo nearly wished he had the idiotic fruit his brother was stuck with because it surely would have helped with stretching out the hard and unrelenting patch of scar tissue on his side.

So he kept stretching, ignoring the shocked and almost jealous looks that he was getting from some of the other recruits.

Hack himself was watching Sabo out of the corner of his eye, though he kept careful watch into the others too, ' _This child was on death's door not more than a month or so ago, and yet here he is, easily outpacing everyone in the beginners class. Though he does show signs of the scar tissue bothering him, those signs are nearly non-existent. Truly children are the most resilient of all of us._ '

Sabo jumped up to his feet quickly and threw a few practice punches around, just to get a feel for his muscles and his current abilities.

The others around him were also rising to their feet as Hack walked in front of them. His arms were crossed, and he still had that stern look on his face.

"Now that you are warmed up I will start to teach you the first kata, or the first set of movements that you will be expected to memorize and practice daily." Hack explained, uncrossing his arms and getting into a stance, "Follow my movements exactly, otherwise, you might end up injuring yourself."

At first. Sabo followed along with the kata, but it started to feel weird for him.

This type of fighting was completely going against what he already knew, what already worked for him. It was about fluid motions moving into hard and steady strikes, not quick reaction times and fast strikes like Sabo had been training for years. In fact, this kata seemed more aimed at taking on a single opponent, unlike the fighting Sabo had been learning which was incredibly adaptive toward facing many at once.

Sabo stood and watched as the others did the kata, and they were a mess with it, for completely different reasons.

It sort of looked like watching a lion trying to stumble through the movements, and those had two limbs in the wrong place.

"Ultimately, if you can't succeed in learning how to defend yourselves, we may try to find you desk jobs, but the majority of you would be sent away. We have no need for the weak here." Hack cut in, watching with a critical eye as the recruits worked, "Sabo, why aren't you doing the -"

"I'm going to go train by myself~! Thanks for the help Hack-san." Sabo waved off, not listening to just what the Fishman was saying and trying to run off.

The instructor tried to reach out for Sabo, "You can't just leave training like..."

Hack trailed off as Sabo  _moved_  and placed a fist against his chest. The Fishman could have moved, it was fast enough to deal with the still impaired child, but in those few seconds, Sabo had bad it painfully clear that he didn't need this lesson. He was beyond the basics, whereas these students were still learning their first moves, if Hack had to guess, it was something Sabo had learned years ago.

"I'll go, but I'll be back before this session ends," Sabo explained, and gave a grin toward the instructor, running off to train himself.

It was interesting to notice just how much you could get away with in this place. They weren't completely serious as you would expect an army to be like armies were like in books, but there were a few aspects of it. The reasoning could be that Sabo was still a child so they didn't want to crack down too hard. That just meant that Sabo would need to take advantage of the leeway for as long as possible. It would be easier to become stronger without the overlords telling him what to do.

He climbed up to one of the slabs that were overlooking his fellows' training, and Sabo started to work on physical conditioning that would actually be helpful to him. Adding weight to himself using some of the salt covered rocks around, Sabo started to do push-ups, some running and feigning punches. He also started to climb around the various slabs as quickly as he could, when weighted down, it was having a quick effect in tiring him out.

When he went into his bunking room that night, he was accosted by all three of the trio.

It was surprising, however, when the quietest of the whole bunch, Veni, spoke up, "...Help us train, Sabo..."

"Sure!" Sabo agreed brightly, in a good mood from actually getting in a good workout.

Even under his agreement though, Sabo knew he had his work cut out for him. The trio moved like they were a four-legged animal after all. Plus, they were learning what Hack was teaching, which meant they would just be using him as a sparring partner, so it wasn't exactly easy to help them in that way. Regardless, Sabo would just try and act like... Shitty Gramps... and just beat them until they could start to defend themselves.

"Psshhh... ha... HAHAHAHAHA~! Let's get started!" Sabo laughed out, utterly cheery all of the sudden, creeping the other three in the room out.

Gramps was no longer around to inflict that horror upon Sabo, but Sabo figured that he was due for a little bit of karma.

"Now?! Don't you know that we just got out of training, huh, Sabo?!" Cenro complained, but still look up the weak stance that he'd recently learned.

"Thanks for your help, Sabo-kun."

Internally Sabo snickered, thinking that perhaps Ferveno wouldn't be thanking him all that much after the beat down they were about to be subjected to.

...

...

...

"He's beyond the scope of my training." Hack spoke to the cloaked figure in front of him, "He's taken to training himself instead of paying any attention to the training, and I don't blame him. It's more effective for him that way, determined child that he is."

Dragon was stood outside, staring into the distance, as he thought over the information he was receiving. He had been expecting something like this, having planned on the blonde having the right sort of spirit, ever since he saw his determination to live all those weeks ago. That was aside from the fact that the kid was holding himself up to the bar of two different D brothers that he'd claimed. Dragon had a suspicion about the Outlook child, that if he was born to any other family other than a noble one,  _that_  middle initial might have found its way into his name.

"Interesting, I was planning on bringing Kuma down to see the recruits with me tomorrow. I have something in mind for Sabo." Dragon explained but fell silent afterwards.

Hack stared at his leader, wondering if he'd say something else, but after a moment of silence, he made his way to the cafeteria. Whatever plans their leader had, he didn't seem ready to reveal them quite yet.

...

...

...

Sabo was planning on training by himself like he usually did, but two figures came over to the training field instead. They were cloaked, something that the higher-ups usually did around here. One of them was huge, around the size of Porchemy, if Sabo was remembering correctly. The other showed the familiar tattooed face of the man who had saved Sabo.

Dragon...

"Today, Dragon-san will be overseeing your progress as you spar with me."

In that case, Sabo would have to give a show that no one would forget.

People started to square up against Hack, and no one stood a chance, getting easily destroyed against his far more practised ability with the Fishman Karate. Which made sense, after all, he was the instructor. Though there was the trio that Sabo had taken under him that had clearly stood out, surviving longer without getting hit. Likely because Sabo didn't pull his punches, and when those three got hit by him, he'd hit them hard. He wouldn't call it Fist of Love level, but it was close and it did have good intentions.

Sabo was next; one of the last few who hadn't gone.

He stood up and walked over, and it always struck Sabo when he realized the size difference between him and his instructor, but in this moment, all Sabo thought was that they stood eye-to-eye. He stood loosely, his fists barely curled into fists as he brought them up, bouncing on his toes as he waited for the match to start.

"GO!" Hack announced, and Sabo rocketed forward.

Unlike usual when Sabo would go back and forth with his instructor for a bit, Sabo feigned a punch, and noticing one of the biggest weakness' of Fishman Karate, Sabo took advantage and slipped under his guard – Quite literally. Sabo slide across the ground, under the legs of his opponent, and with quick movements that could only be found in someone extremely practised with pickpocketing, Sabo slipped his opponent's belt off.

He stood, and turned back to Hack, who apparently didn't notice at first and was already getting into position for the next short bout.

Sabo held up the belt with a grin, "Missing something, Hack-san?"

"Still as abstinent and light-spirited as ever." Hack grumbled, quickly taking a hold of his pants before they could slip down.

Sabo threw the belt over to Hack, his grin still wide, as he took off his hat and offered a mocking bow, "I just thought you'd like it if I pointed out the weaknesses in your stance, Hack-san, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, I assure you, that wasn't my intention."

Hack just straight up ignored Sabo, something he was practised with recently, and tied his belt back up correctly, turning to his next opponent. Sabo placed his hat back on his head and went to stand next to the trio, who had given him looks of exasperation and pride.

The remaining people knew that it was a hard, no, impossible act to follow, but they tried anyway.

"Right, think about what happened and what mistakes you've met, we'll start up tomorrow again around the same time." Hack instructed, sending them on their way. Sabo started to head back into the compound, but was stopped short by back, "Sabo, stay behind for a moment."

Sabo froze in place and turned around, his good mood still intact, but wondering just what they wanted. He didn't think he'd done anything particularly bad, though it might have been deemed immature.

"From now on, you'll be sparing with Kuma every day until you beat him." Dragon broke in, though he'd been silent for the whole of the lesson until just then, motioning toward the huge man standing next to him.

Sabo grinned and looked up at the man, only able to actually see his eyes when they came down to meet his. In fact, if he was being honest, Sabo thought that Kuma might actually be bigger than Porchemy. The blonde could only hope that he gave at least that much of a challenge.

"Sounds like a plan, nice to meet you, Kuma-san," Sabo said, inclining his head only slightly so that his hat didn't fall off.

Kuma didn't say anything, though he did bow his own head slightly in return.

Sabo grinned wide at the response. He might have been quiet, but the blonde had the feeling that he was actually a really good person. Tomorrow was surely not going to be boring, considering he had a new challenge. Sabo dashed toward the cafe, wanting to eat quickly, as he was excited to write to his brothers about this new development.

...

...

...

_It's that time again, Luffy, Ace_

_My training and classes have been pretty boring and easy, but it seems like that is going to change soon! I got a new challenge, and I am excited to see how I overcome it. Shouldn't be too hard, but we'll see._

_The trio that I live here with are funny, they asked me to train with them if you can believe it. I started to hit them like Gramp's trains us, and if you can believe it, they actually THANKED me for my time afterwards. They are pretty insane, but they are determined._

_Also, one of them is just like Ace! He tries to hide just how shy he is, but as I have a brother just like that, I could spot it a mile away. He even blushed the same way! You know the way I'm talking about Luffy, the same way Ace looks whenever you give him a hug, or he's talking to Makino._

_I also saw the person who saved me again today for the first time._

_I kind of expected him to be more like Luffy, but he really isn't at all like that. He's so serious, I don't know how to feel about it. Although I guess I would feel really homesick if he was more like my little brother, so maybe this is better. I do miss you guys, I think about you every day._

_Hey Lu, Ace's is totally doing that blushing right now, isn't he?_

_Anyway, I have studying to do, behave Lu, and make sure to tease Ace in my absence._

_Sincerely, Sabo_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now decided on a devil fruit. It'll be a surprise which I picked, any guesses?


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note:** I decided on the Devil Fruit, so there is that. Koala happens to be introduced this chapter, and I'm not quite sure I hit how her character actually is, but looking at her past, I feel like this might be a realistic approach to the beginning of a friendship between her and Sabo. I figure that my take on Sabo will be overly polite to the people he doesn't like, but not try to hide that dislike all that much, we'll see going forward. Let me know what you think.

 _Poll about Sabo having Conqueror's Haki or not is now up on my profile._  I will absolutely go with the popular vote for this one, so if you want to weigh in feel free. Anyone got any pairings you would like to see with Sabo in this story? I will do Slash/Het/ and Gen, so any suggestions are welcome.

...

...

...

The two stood facing one another, they were a whole field away from the rest of the recruits, giving them privacy to train. Kuma was an imposing figure, that hadn't changed, but Sabo found that it didn't really matter that much. After having beat Porchemy and successfully escaped, Sabo didn't find the size to be all that much of an intimidation factor. Still, most would have found the comparison between their two sizes hilarious – Sabo barely came up to his opponent's knee, after all.

Sabo just found himself more excited.

"Thank you for agreeing to spar with me, Kuma-san, are you any good?" Sabo asked, going through a few stretches before the fight started.

Kuma looked at Sabo for a moment, seemingly assessing him, "... Try your hardest."

Sabo grinned and darted forward.

Having thought about it the night before, Sabo came to the realization that the best way to win this fight would be to use speed against him, as well as his size. The same sort of idea worked against Hack due to his stance, so if Sabo could just slip underneath his guar –

_FWOOSH!_

Sabo was hit off the ground and sent flying across the field.

Salt exploded around him as he braced himself against the ground and pushed himself up. He looked back to his opponent, and suddenly it started to make sense that they were so far away from the others, because Kuma, he was standing there as if nothing had happened. The man had made one move, a move that was barely noticeable even with Sabo's considerably keen eyes, and had sent him meters away without a care toward Sabo's physical status.

"Interesting..." Sabo mused, a grin pushing its way across his face.

Despite his size, Kuma was very clearly faster than Sabo, and judging from the air he'd given Sabo's body as he threw it around, was also far stronger. There were a few other ways to beat out an opponent though. Out thinking them was always a possibility, but there was also outlasting him. Whoever had the most stamina and determination would win that fight, and if Sabo had anything, it was both intelligence and determination.

So, Sabo ran at Kuma again, this time trying to angle himself behind the man, thinking that there might be a weak spot dependent on just where he attacked.

_FWOOSH!_

From behind

_FWOOSH!_

From the air, dropping down from the sk—

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

Sabo had tried everything he could think of before too long, as far as different ways to come at his opponent, and he was panting from the effort, his body aching from being constantly flung to the side and into the ground at high speeds, and his legs were starting to tire out from running at such high speeds toward his opponent.

"... We are done for today." Kuma announced.

Sabo almost wanted to refuse, feeling stubborn and wanton to beat this opponent that was before him. Then again, he thought back to the situation. He couldn't win, it wasn't possible, and Sabo wasn't Ace. He didn't need a swift kick to the head to get his brain working when it came to setting some fights aside. Right now, Sabo was too weak.

"Of course, thanks for your time, Kuma-san." Sabo spoke, walking over to his top hat, which had been flung from him however long ago it was.

He placed it on his head and started to make his way toward the compound, looking more thoughtful than anything.

"Sabo," Someone spoke from behind the blonde, causing him to swing around, met with the now familiar face of Hack, "So you've finally met an insurmountable obstacle in your path in Kuma."

It wasn't a question, it was a reality, apparently one that Hack knew without even having seen the fight.

"Something like that," Sabo admitted, and he rubbed the back of his neck sort of sheepishly, after all, it was the sort of humbling gesture that he'd been practically begging for with his interactions with Hack.

"So, what will you do?" Hack asked, seemingly genuinely interested in what the blonde would say.

There was the opinion to give it, that was always an opinion, it just wasn't one that Sabo would take. So, in this case, there was only one other option that Sabo wanted to take, "I guess I'll take a page out of my two brothers books. First, I won't turn my back on this fight, and second, if I can't beat this opponent, how could I ever hope to be worthy of being on the same crew as the future Pirate King."

Ace and Luffy, those two stubborn brothers of his... They were likely out there taking on things they couldn't handle, fighting more than they should, eating more than they could, and being more selfish than most people could stand. Sometimes though, sometimes it was so very apparent why they made such good brothers with Sabo because Sabo could be exactly the same with bullheaded stubbornness.

"If there is an obstacle that I can't climb, I'll just go through it." Sabo finished, and was filled with renewed determination, "It might take a while before I manage to pull it off, but that's exactly what training is for, to get stronger, to measure yourself, and so, I will do just that."

...

...

...

Immediately after the fight with Kuma, Sabo started to work on just how he should best prepare himself for the future spars. Clearly, there was a huge difference in strength, something that Sabo would need to work to close the gap on. Easier said than done, but not impossible.

So he trained.

He did twice as much physical training as he had before, and that was saying something.

When he was training with the trio, he made sure to make it as difficult as possible for himself. When he was reading, he started to add in exorcises. When there was a moment that he had free and he was lacking in movement, he started to do something to help him close the chasm between himself and his advisory.

Every day he did this, and every day he lost to Kuma.

Time passed, and people that trained with Hack started to widdle down from a class of a large size to a pool of ten. Sabo didn't pay much mind to that beyond the fact that his roommates were still a part of it. The passage of time was measured by his next battle, and just when his meals were. Those increased in size exponentially, likely because of the amount of energy that Sabo constantly used.

The skin around his scar was now utterly malleable, though the scar would never fade, as far as movement went, it was as good as new.

Sabo was at his lunch eating as he read a book about the islands of the North Blue when he was tapped on the shoulder.

"You're always pretty busy, huh?"

He turned around and was met with the image of a young brunette girl with a purple dress on, seemingly about his age, if Sabo guessed correctly. Still, he was sure that he hadn't seen her around here. She was likely part of the new recruits that came trickling in every now and again.

"Nice to meet you," Sabo greeted, reluctantly putting the book down for a semblance of manners toward the new person, "My name is Sabo, and you are?"

"Koala, nice to meet you Sabo-kun." She spoke, and there was a small smile on her face, but it seemed incredibly static.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Koala, was there something you wanted?" Sabo exchanged, keeping his eyes connected with hers, even though they really wanted to go back to his food and book.

"Hack-sensei was telling me about you, and I wanted to see if the rumour mill matched up." She explained off-handedly, almost nonchalantly, and yet, the smile stayed exactly the same, "I suppose they weren't wrong."

"What exactly did they say?" Sabo asked, and though he didn't really care, he was mildly interested in what they thought about him.

"You were stupidly determined to the point where you don't pay attention to anything other than your goal. I can tell, because I've been here for a month, yet you think I'm new. Also, I was standing behind you for a good ten minutes before I called your attention." Koala said.

"Oh? Sorry Miss Koala, I guess that those rumours are right." Sabo apologized.

Normally, apologies were followed by an action that showed you would change your behaviour going forward. Sabo, however, followed up this apology by immediately turning right back to what he was doing before, reading and eating, paying the girl absolutely no mind. In fact, he completely ignored her presence at all.

"Really?" He heard her whisper to herself, but instead of leaving like most people would, she sat right next to him and stared.

Okay, so maybe Sabo was finding her amusing a little bit. People usually stopped trying to get his attention, but this girl, she thought she could annoy his eyes away from his book by just placing a heavy glance on him. It wouldn't work, of course, but it was a decent enough try. Sabo could ignore Luffy and Ace's rather obnoxious snoring, eyes on him was nothing compared to that.

...

...

...

So, it would seem that Koala was as determined to get Sabo to talk to her of his own volition as Sabo was determined to ignore her existence in favour of his goal, and to not let her get in the way.

Then he realized just how his actions might come off as.

"I'm sorry Miss Koala, I've been treating you pretty horribly, do you need something from me?" Sabo suddenly asked one day as they were walking toward where Sabo would be having his next sparring match.

He'd been acting like Ace, and if Sabo fell into those sorts of actions, then they would end up with no brother out of the three capable of smoothing things over for the other two.

"No, I don't need anything from you." She admitted, "I've just been watching you, I want to understand how someone who was a noble could join the Revolutionaries. It's nothing personal."

That smile she had.

Suddenly it didn't seem like much of a smile.

"I hate them." Sabo gritted out, letting those emotions rise for a minute, just enough to give her something to go off of, "They forced me to try to be a part of their perfect world, tried to make me into something I wasn't, and if I didn't do things the way they wanted, if there was so much as a single flaw, I was punished for it. I ran away, and I got a taste of freedom, and then they ripped that away as well, and they took me away from my sworn brothers only to lock me up while they tried to burn my brothers like they were trash...I'll never forgive this World for what it did."

Koala stood there, and Sabo walked on to his sparring match.

That small smile, fake as it was, had faded away.

...

...

...

It was about fifteen more matches with Kuma before Sabo saw her again. When he did, she had that smile back. Sabo felt somewhat annoyed with that, so he gave her the sweetest smile he possibly could in return.

"Let's be friends.'

"Of course, Miss Koala~!" Sabo teased out, that sweet, polite smile still on his lips.

For just a second, Sabo thought me might have seen her eyes smile too, and the poison his lips had been dripping lessened. With that, they walked together toward Sabo's sparring session with Kuma. She stood off to the side and watched as Sabo ran toward the man with determination and elation in his eyes as he forgot her very existence during the fight.

_FWOOSH!_

But he was getting closer to his goal, a grin shown to Sabo's mouth.

It was even though, and his face would have been symmetrical if not for the scar around his eye because his tooth had finally grown in.

...

...

...

The number of times Kuma had hit Sabo, you would have thought Sabo would get used to the fighting style, would be able to pull off some sort of lucky hit, but it just never happened. It was reading some rare novel from the grand line that Sabo got his first idea of why. Haki, and it wasn't only mentioned in that book, it was mentioned in several different places. The likelihood that it was fake was slim the moment Sabo looked it up in a scientific book and there it was. Haki.

Haki that helped to somehow predict where attacks would land.

"I wonder if that's considered cheating..." Sabo mused to himself but grinned, because before he was getting stronger, faster, and no matter what he'd done, he couldn't win.

Now all he needed to do was learn Haki.

He went into the next battle with that in mind.

Sabo didn't attack, he waited for Kuma too. It wasn't a new strategy, it was one of the things he had tried the first day, but this time, Sabo continued to have Kuma attack first, and he kept trying to dodge instead of hit him. He used his sparring opponent as the training tool that he really was for Sabo. Though Kuma didn't say anything, Sabo had the feeling he knew what was going on. It didn't show on Kuma's face or anything, it was just a feeling that Sabo had.

And that continued.

Not just for that day, but going forward.

Sabo had Kuma attack him and tried to dodge, and it didn't work –

_FWOOSH!_

Maybe it had been a month.

_FWOOSH!_

Was it a year?

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

Koala was still standing there, watching as Sabo attempted again and again. Some point down the line her smile had started to become more real. They started to talk to one another as they walked down to Sabo's daily beating. She shared facts and interesting little bits about the places that she'd been, the things that she'd read. Intelligent enough to hold a conversation. In fact, she seemed even better at retaining information than Sabo was.

_FWOOSH!_

When had Koala and the trio become friends? Oh well, if all of Sabo's friends were friends themselves than it made it all the more likely that none of them would leave like most of the recruits had seemed too.

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

There was a near-manic grin on Sabo's mouth as he was hit into the air again, and this time, it wasn't because of determination, it was because that determination had started to pay off. That was really the only way it made sense because Sabo had almost dodged.

Almost didn't count in horseshoes or with hand grenades.

But it was closer than he'd ever come.

_FWOOSH!_

"Sabo-kun, why are you so determined to beat Kuma-san?" Koala asked she was in the room with the trio as they were studying. Trading deals between countries, dry material, but exceedingly useful for disrupting just that in favour of the revolutionary cause, should it ever come to that.

Sabo grinned, "Well, awhile ago, Dragon said that it was a step in my training to get a hit on Kuma. I guess at some time it evolved into something way more important."

"More important?" She quarried, and that small smile on her lips was more real than it had ever been because she understood Sabo, and already knew what his answer would be.

"I gave my word that I would, besides, if I'm going to be on the crew of the Pirate King in the future, I should be able to do at least this much, right?"

They went to bed, Koala going back to her own room, and Sabo getting some much-needed rest. Needless to say, he got up bright and early in the morning and started the same thing over again.

_FWOOSH!_

_FWOOSH!_

"Pssh...ha...ha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" Sabo laughed out as he dodged the paw that was aimed at him, it went wide, missing him completely. In his joy, he completely missed the other paw that was following it up.

_FWOOSH!_

Dragon was standing there, watching for the first time in a long time. Or at least, it was the first time that Sabo had noticed the man, and was that Hack? It had been awhile since Sabo had seen him, but he certainly hadn't changed a bit. Koala was there as well, though she did seem slightly unsettled by the fact that Dragon was there. If her eyes were saying anything, they were telling Sabo to be on his best behaviour.

Sabo squared up against Kuma, and unlike the last (hundred?) few times, Sabo went to charge at his opponent first.

_FWOOSH!_

Yet, unlike usual when he was sent away, Sabo landed in a stockpile of weapons. Had Kuma meant to do that? He did seem to have decent aim with that ability of his, and yet, why would the man be sending Sabo into weapons. Learning a new weapon would set him back in ability. It took awhile to learn how to use a weapon after all –

Then Sabo saw it, a pipe.

His hand drifted over toward it without Sabo even noticing, and he held it, tested its weight.

Memories crashed into Sabo, nostalgia filling him, and damn it, he missed his brothers. Forcing that feeling away, Sabo rose to his feet and started to make his way back to Kuma. Once he was close enough, he spun the pipe around in his hand. It was smooth, it seemed that some things really were like the saying, 'It is like riding a bike!'

An idea rose to his mind, and oh how his brothers would approve. That pretty much settled it, and he ran toward Kuma with that in mind.

He saw the paw coming before it actually happened, and he used his pipe for the first time in so long, not to hit Kuma, but instead, he used the pipe to hit the top of Kuma's paw and propel himself over to his real target. Within Dragon's reach, Sabo swung.

His vision started to fade, "You certainly are related to Garp at the very least, with that brashness."

"Really, Sabo-kun?!" Koala sounded off, clearly pissed, and Sabo knew that when he woke up, he'd regret whatever he'd done to make her angry.

And that was the last thing he heard before he completely lost consciousness.

...

...

...

_Ace, Luffy_

_That annoying girl that I mentioned, we became friends. I know, I know, but I couldn't help it when I thought about how much Ace would absolutely hate her! But seriously, we became friends, and she isn't that bad once you get to know her. Though she is still super annoying. She tries to get me to train less, something about over stressing my body, but she doesn't understand that my body doesn't work that way!_

_I have to train as hard as possible to beat that super strong guy._

_Ace would be so frustrated at it, I'm sure. I've faced this guy hundreds of times now, and I've lost every single time to a single move. I won't give up though, because if I did then I wouldn't deserve - Well - You know the thing. I don't want to say it too often, Lu might start to get a big head or something if I have too much faith in him. If that happened with his devil fruit, he might start to float into space._

_I started to learn something that might give me an edge in the fight. I'll let you know how that goes soon._

_Sincerely, Sabo_


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

"You're a moron." Was the first thing Sabo heard as he opened his eyes.

He turned his head to the side slightly, Koala was sitting at his bedside, there was a small smile on her face, but her eyes were screaming murder at him.

"That's not a nice way to talk to an injured person, Miss Koala." Sabo groaned out, and he felt as if there was a weight on his chest. If he remembered correctly, he had gone after Dragon and got the air knocked out of him spectacularly. Well, at least the leader of the organization he was a part of wasn't weak.

"You work toward a goal like beating Kuma for four years, and you get your chance to do it in front of the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and you decide it is better to attack him instead of impressing him." Koala hissed out, and honestly, it was impressive how her expression stayed the same despite her clear anger.

"...Four years? Just how long was I unconscious?" Sabo asked more than a little bit worried.

Koala looked like she wanted to hit him, thankfully, she restrained herself, likely only because Sabo was already injured enough, "Less than a day, are you seriously telling me that you don't know how long you've been sparring with Kuma?"

"I didn't count the days or anything... It felt more like a year at most... Shit, I must have forgotten to wish Luffy and Ace so many happy birthdays. It would have been such a great opportunity to mess with Ace too. Maybe I was a bit too obsessed..." Sabo mused to himself on the lost opportunity.

Sabo reached up and touched his hair, a thought occurring to him, "Makes sense why my hair is this long then, I thought it was something I was eating! Pshh...ha...hahahahahaha~!"

"You're actually an idiot." Koala concluded and she reached over and flicked him on his forehead, ignoring the indignant sound that escaped the blonde, "You'll be lucky if Dragon doesn't remove you from the Army for what you pulled."

Sabo wasn't really worried about it though. He remembered way back when first met Hack, he'd stated that Dragon liked the stubborn, obstinate type, by that logic Dragon must love him. Besides, and Sabo didn't want to seem too smug about it, he was too strong an asset to be let go just because he was a wild one sometimes. There weren't that many people who had made it through the four years of training, that, if nothing else, showed just how important strength was in recruitment.

Still, Sabo didn't think that Koala would take his answer to that well, "We'll see."

"Can you be less nonchalant, Sabo-kun, this is a serious situation."

"We'll see what Dragon will do with me soon, Miss Koala, until then, I'm afraid there isn't much else we can do." Sabo mocked, his voice falling into a grave tone.

That earned him another flick.

"Where are the trio, anyway?" Sabo asked, and he would have expected at least Ferveno and Veni, if not a reluctant Cenro.

"Oh, they thought what you did was funny, so they won't be waking up for at least another hour."

"How scary, Miss Koala~" Sabo feigned fright.

"That's it, I'm keeping your hat, you can have it back if you ever gain common sense."

With that, she walked out of the room without a second look back. This left Sabo with nothing more than that hope that she didn't mean it, because him and that hat had been through a lot, and he had only just started to grow into it. Now that he knew it had been four years, growing into it made a hell of a lot more sense. There was a still sort of silence around the room, and wow, it was empty in his life without his goal to go after Kuma. Sabo didn't know what to do with himself.

"Don't pull something like that again."

Stood in the doorway was Dragon, his arms were crossed over his chest casually.

"Of course not, never again, Dragon-san," Sabo promised, and he wasn't even crossing his fingers. If he was going to pull another bold, borderline stupid thing like that, it would be different. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result was the definition of insanity, after all.

Dragon didn't say anything, staring at Sabo heavily, not believing the blonde child for a second, "I expected something like that from you, so I can't be too upset. I picked you up for that sort of ingenuity. It's that sort of thing that breaths new breath into organizations like this, without new ideas, new minds, and new attitudes, we would die out like all others before us."

Sabo thought over what was being said, but something didn't add up, "If that's the case, then why hasn't the World Government died out? After all, unlike the Revolutionary Army, they don't accept things that are different from their ideal. Fishman being a prime example."

"They don't need to, they subjugate those people in order to gain a similar effect." Dragon answered, and it hit Sabo, just how weird this was for him. The person before him was the leader of the organization, and they were sat here having a philosophical conversation.

"Why exactly are you here, Dragon-san?"

"From now on, I'll be taking over your training. I'll teach you my style of fighting, as well as helping you perfect your haki skills and polish it off. After that, I'll be sending you on the most dangerous missions I can think of, putting you in danger continuously until you leave to join my son." Dragon explained and his expression was carefully blank.

"How blunt in your plans to use me," Sabo half stated, half asked.

"There's no time for smoke and mirrors. I know that you have a lot of potential, and I want to use it while I can before you join my son as he finds his own answer to this World." Dragon replied with a sort of bluntness you wouldn't expect from the leader of a secret organization, "Of course, you still have the freedom to leave at any time, but I doubt you will. Training starts tomorrow, the same place you've been sparring with Kuma."

Dragon left the room, and he did so know that despite the fact he once again offered Sabo the freedom to leave at any time, he'd stay. The reason was simple enough, Outlook Sabo was far too much like Dragon, it made it easier to predict just what that blonde 'wild card' would choose. Both of them were unsatisfied with the world, both of them knowing the truth even beneath the Goa Kingdom and the World, and both of them had made a start to trying to make the world a better place.

Sabo would stay, at least until he had to fulfil his promise to Luffy.

...

...

...

There was still some mild discolouration in his abdomen from the impact that knocked him out, but Sabo still woke up the next day and started to get ready, falling into the same sort of schedule he'd picked up.

Just as Sabo was getting dressed, Cenro walked up to him and threw an arm around Sabo's shoulders, "Oi, we heard about the stunt you pulled, how much trouble did you get yourself into?"

"Dragon-san decided to train me personally," Sabo replied, with a grin toward his friend.

Cenro went still, his armed going somewhat stiff around Sabo's shoulders, before he shook his head, "You're unbelievable, Sabo."

Sabo just kept grinned, completely unashamedly.

"Don't make that smug face about it!" Cenro exclaimed, his arm coming off Sabo's shoulders to cuff the blonde upside the head, but Sabo just dodged it without a pause, putting some distance between them as he finished getting dressed.

"Oh yeah, Miss Koala has my hat..." Sabo said, pout clear in his voice.

"... Sabo... She brought it here..." Veni claimed, his voice slow, but steady.

"Here, Sabo-kun, she wanted us to give it to you once you got out of the infirmary," Ferveno claimed, and he placed the hat on top of Sabo's head. Now that Sabo thought about it, their height had evened out over the years, to the point where, though they were still taller than him, the gap was much smaller.

"Thanks, Ferveno, Veni~! I guess you too, Cenro, you need all the thanks you can get to help with that grumpy expression you usually have~!" Sabo added, just as he waved bye to the trio, jogging out of the room and toward the cafeteria.

"Next time I see you, Sabo –!" Followed Sabo out of the room, but before Cenro could finish the threat, Sabo was already too far away to hear it.

When he got there, hundreds of eyes turned to him, everyone in the café was staring. Did they know about his sparring match with Kuma and what he had done? Wow, was nothing sacred in this place? Instead of feeling bothered though, Sabo just grinned at them, and eventually, they looked away, curiosity fulfilled, or at least postponed.

"You've got a certain amount of flair to you, Tophat-boy," Sabo heard, causing him to turn around to see who spoke, and behind him was an interesting person, to say the least. Sabo hadn't seen anything like it, hell, he hadn't heard or read about it either. It, was, perhaps, rude when referring to a person. The woman, man? Person, that was behind him was in some sort of one piece suit, complete with purple leather gloves and boots. The make-up that ... they?... were wearing was over the top and, though clearly carefully applied, seemed to be used in overabundance. They also towered over Sabo, not nearly as tall as Kuma, but still taller than average.

"Thank you, Miss...?" Sabo carefully trailed off, rather hesitant for the first time since he was back at Goa.

"Ivankov, I'm one of the commanders. I've heard a lot about you lately, Tophat-boy, we're all waiting to see what you accomplish," The Okama claimed, as she, he, they, spoke, they gestured with their hands. Sabo couldn't remember a more expressive person, well, Luffy came close, his rubber body really allowing any facial expression he made truly stand out to near comic proportions.

"I hope to impress, Miss Ivankov." Sabo politely uttered, keeping his tone impeccable in his caution, "If I could ask about...?"

"I'm an Okama, boyo, the leader of Okama society at that, though I'm also a leader and instructor here. You've got a lot of charm to you, the scar only adding to it, I'm sure that you'll end up under my tutelage at some point." With those final words, Ivankov strutted away.

Sabo didn't really know how to feel, but firmly reminded himself not to judge. Especially not after the point that Dragon had made earlier. The unique blood brought new breath to the organization, it made sense to have even more oddball characters.

With that out of the way, Sabo grabbed himself some food and went to his usual seat. As Koala wasn't around, it was a rather quiet meal, but from what he remembered, Koala didn't join him every day, likely having her own training sometimes, well, either that, or she was already being put on missions.

Sabo left the hall soon after that, and it was really a haze, considering just how much he was looking forward to what the lesson he was about to take part in would be about.

Dragon was standing there.

It felt weird, seeing Dragon and not Kuma standing before him, but that feeling didn't stop Sabo from approaching.

"You know, when you attacked me, I was more than ecstatic to have been correct about you." Dragon commented, staring Sabo down, "You'll need to polish up your Haki skills before I start up with your martial ones. From what I understand, you've become skilled with Kenbunshoku, so the first thing we'll need to work on is your Busoshoku."

"How do you do that?" Sabo asked, and maybe he already had an idea, but he hoped he was wrong.

He wasn't wrong.

The rather painful process of awakening his Busoshoku Haki started that day, and continued onward despite the bruises and complaining from Sabo. Surely there was a better way of achieving it...

...

...

...

Compared to Kenbunshoku Haki, Sabo learned Busoshoku a lot faster. In a matter of weeks, he'd awakened it, though Dragon drilled the use into him for months. He wanted Sabo to be able to use it for more extended periods of time, to be able to put it into a weapon, he really wanted Sabo to start and master it before they moved on.

Though Sabo wasn't quite at that point yet, Dragon did start to sprinkle in other bits of the fighting training in between drilling with Haki.

"The main idea behind this style of fighting is looking for, and striking, the absolute weak point in an object or opponent. With Haki, the extent to which this can be used becomes disastrous, dangerous even, if you're not being careful. That's part of the reason why you need to be able to use your haki precisely before we move on." Dragon instructed, circling around Sabo as the blonde sat there, pipe in hand, pushing his Haki into the instrument.

When he'd started, he could barely get the weapon to twinge grey, but with each passing week the colour was getting darker, and therefore the quality of his Haki was increasing.

"The fighting style, though it would be better classified as an attack style, is called Ryūsōken – "

Sabo sat up abruptly, looking at Dragon, who had been circling around the sitting Sabo as he attempted to cycle his Haki. The movement stopped when Sabo had jerked out of concentration, and the two of them stared at one another.

Slowly, eyes still connected, Sabo started to grin, it slowly inching itself across his face, "Dragon Claw Fist, that's what you called your attack style, Dragon-san?"

Dragon narrowed his eyes at his young pseudo apprentice.

"I'd say it was a bit contrived, but then, I am starting to see a bit of the family resemblance here. Not a single one of you could come up with creative names. You call the attack you use with your fist 'Dragon Fist' and Luffy goes around naming Bulls 'Bull' and fish 'Fishy' then, of course, there is Gramps, who probably gave himself his own epithet," Sabo explained his thought process, and though he withheld his want to laugh, the amusement rang clear in both tone, and expression.

"Our simplicity is to make room for our skill, maybe if you gain some, you can comment on the naming process." Dragon cut down, and was that some annoyance that Sabo spotted from the man? He certainly tried to make a cutting remark, little did he know that Sabo was far too shameless for that to work.

"I see, Dragon-san is embarrassed by his simple naming process and is trying to push it to the side by ridiculing me as a way to deflect attention. You know, Dragon-san, there are a lot of people in his organization that remind me of my older brother. They even have a term for what you are," Sabo paused for dramatic effect, "Tsundere."

Sabo wasn't imagining it, he definitely saw Dragon's eye twitch at that one.

"Are you trying to conversate instead of focusing on your Haki because you lack the ability to do the required assignment? We can always go back a few steps and I can try hitting you over the head with a stick." Dragon deadpanned, and Sabo went back to his assigned task, he was still smiling widely, and the incident wasn't far from his mind.

Dragon-san liked the mouthing off, Sabo was almost sure of it. Beyond that, however, Dragon was an _amazing_ verbal sparring partner, and that was always something the blonde could appreciate because no one around him tended to play with him like that.

...

...

...

"You even made the grip look like a Dragon's claw huh... You seem pretty deep into the cohesive image you set up for yourself."

Sabo commented, watching as Dragon held his hand out, his index and middle finger curled together, his ring and pinkie finger following it, and his thumb also curling slightly inward in the image of a claw.

"It's meant to symbolize claws that would take power from the conceded, so I'm not exactly sure you'll be able to use them, your intentions might repel the technique." Dragon commented dryly, and if Sabo wasn't mistaken, in their time together, Dragon had become slightly less hidden with that sense of humour that he had squirrelled away, "Now try to form the same shape as my hand is in with your own."

Sabo tried.

And utterly failed.

His hand did _not_ like him trying to take up that stance. It likely had to do with the tendons not being used to stretching that way, because whenever his full attention wasn't on his hand, the fingers would start to drift apart. Sabo tried to ignore the fact that Dragon was smirking at him, likely because of his last comment seemingly coming true, despite for different reasons.

"Once you can actually hold the stance, you'll start breaking apart the soft salt sentiment, moving your way up to harder materials until you can successfully break them. Without Haki, of course, the Haki comes in later."

The lessons moved on from there.

After that point, Sabo would continuously exorcise both of his hands by breaking different materials, Dragon lecturing on in the background on different ways to sense and find the focal point, the weak point, so as to shatter it.

"It can be a person, an idea, it could even be an entire island, everything has a weak point, and if you can strike it hard enough, everything will unravel. At this point, you'll have noticed that the places you place your grip on the rock greatly affect how well the rock will break under the pressure, that is a perfect example of how this technique works. The effect of this becomes all the more impressive on physical objects when you use Haki. You can, for lack of a better work, insert your Haki and use it to corrode away at the object you attacked the weak point of. It can get to the point where you can do something like _THIS_!"

Both of Dragon's fists turned black with massive amounts of Busoshoku as he thrust them into the hard ground they were standing on. For a few seconds, nothing happened, then the surroundings crumbled around the two of them, forming a crater around teacher and student.

"I would have heckled you a lot less if I'd known that you were this badass all along, Dragon-san," Sabo commented, his hand touching the brim of his Tophat as Sabo pulled it down over his eyes a little bit, trying to hide the extent of his awe at the feat.

"Saving your life should have been enough for you to respect me." Dragon said back, before he fell back into instructor mode, "This was just a small example of what this ability can do. Before I allow you to go on missions, I want you to be able to do an attack around half this size – Though I expect you to increase your range and ability afterwards."

Half the size of it... So about a diameter of fifteen feet roughly.

Why did Sabo think that it wouldn't exactly be an easy feat to achieve?

...

...

...

Finding the weak point that Dragon spoke of was the hardest part. Sabo had assumed at the start that this was an attack using Busoshoku Haki, but that wasn't right, it was actually a mix of both types. You needed to actually be overly efficient with Kenbunshoku Haki to even find where you would insert Busoshoku. Even when you found a weak point, there was another issue. That issue is that there was always more than one weak point. It was deceptive like that.

Hard, but, of course, not impossible.

Having said that, he was only barely over the halfway mark toward where he needed to be if he wanted to actually go on missions for the Revolutionaries.

"Veni? Where's Cenro? I haven't seen him in a few days." Sabo asked when he got back to his room one night.

"... He got a mission... Annoyed the higher ups... Until they gave in..." Veni slowly answered, his voice at its typical low level, only just barely audible.

"Well, that certainly sounds like Cenro-kun, I don't see why I expected anything else. What about Ferveno?" Sabo inquired.

"... Working with Koala... Communications department..."

"I haven't seen Miss Koala in a while, wonder what she's up to," Sabo mused aloud, and he did miss his friends, now that he started to actually pay attention to the time that passed, it was painfully clear just how little time that he actually got to spend with them. Instead, he spent hours a day studying and training. It was what he signed up for, both he, and his nakama from the army knew that, but it still hit him sometimes, "Well, I'll have to visit both of them in Communications when I get the chance. Thanks for letting me know, Veni-kun, I appreciate it."

Sabo gave a small bow toward Veni before leaving the room.

"... No one believes those bows... Sabo..." Veni whispered, but it rang unanswered in the empty room. It didn't change the fact that Sabo, for all first appearances aside, was anything but polite once you really got to know him.

...

...

...

"Dragon-san, forgive me if this is too personal, but do those tattoos have any particular meaning?" Sabo asked, just as he thrust his fists into the ground for the fifth time that day, pushing his Haki throughout the interconnected cracks.

_CRUMBLE!_

Still only around five or six feet in diameter... Sabo kept his disappointed sigh to himself as he glanced up to Dragon to see the answer. The man in question had crossed his arms, the tattoo being made all the more apparent. It started on his forehead in a crimson red, downward, interconnected lines all the way down his face, his neck, curving around his shoulder, and all the way down his right hand where it ended by wrapping around his wrist.

Not that Sabo had seen the whole thing at once, but through their training, Sabo slowly saw small glimpses, enough to paint the whole picture at least.

"No."

"Liar, people don't get tattoos like that for no reason." Sabo denied the denial, before giving into his streak – okay, more like a river – of mischievous tendencies, "Oh, I see... Dragon-san, was your tattoo a drunken mistake? Don't worry, I'll keep the information to myself."

"Thank you, please keep it to yourself." Dragon stated, which meant that no, it wasn't a drunken mistake, but Dragon also wasn't about to admit just what it meant either.

Dragon could be as stubborn as he wanted, is Sabo wanted to know something, he would eventually figure it out.

He trusts his fists back into the ground, to the improved measure of something like seven feet of crater being created as the surroundings crumbled around him. He was inching closer and closer to being able to help, and it felt good. It wasn't as though Sabo ever lost his determination, but the closer he got, the deeper the fires of determination became.

...

...

...

The rate of growth Sabo had was monstrous, exactly as Dragon had expected it to be, but it seemed that he'd underestimated Sabo quite a bit. He was getting too close to actually getting to the goal that was set to him when the reality of the situation as that Dragon didn't want to let the kid go out on missions before he turned at least sixteen – Though he'd prefer somewhere closer to seventeen.

He wanted to use Sabo's strength, but he also didn't want to subject him to things that he wasn't ready emotionally to handle yet.

At the rate that Sabo was going, he'd manage the technique in a few more months, which meant that Dragon needed to slow him down somewhat.

He hadn't wanted to do it, for fear of how it would traumatize Sabo, but it seemed there was no other recourse, "Ivankov, I'm cutting Sabo's training in half, you'll take him for the other half of the day."

"Oh course, Dragon-boy, I'll gladly take him under my wing~ Tophat-boy has so much potential," The Okama sang, practically skipping around the room in happiness at getting his way.

Ivankov had been trying to get his grasp on that boy ever since he first got here. He'd tried for the girl as well, Koala, if he remembered correctly. Once learning her past, Ivankov didn't think she would be comfortable with the type of work Ivankov tutored for, but Sabo, despite his own tragic past, was the ideal candidate still.

Dragon ignored the joy coming from his subordinate and walked outside, allowing himself to relax in the breeze.

"You come out here a lot less lately, Dragon-boy, I wonder about that," Ivankov quietly stated, but left the room, letting Dragon stare toward the East with a far more relaxed expression than he would normally allow himself to be seen with.

...

...

...

"Tophat-boy~! From now on, half of your lessons will take place with me," Ivankov stated in the middle of the café, drawing attention with his flamboyant tone.

Sabo started to get looks of sympathy.

"Thank you for your time then, Miss Ivankov," Sabo intoned, and though he was sat down and in the middle of his meal, he still inclined his head slightly.

"Trust me, it's no problem boyo, finish up your meal so that we can go, wouldn't want to waste any precious time."

With those words from his soon to be instructor, Sabo swiftly threw any attempt at manners to the side and started to quickly stuff the food into his mouth, practically inhaling, as he'd learned to do if he ever wanted to eat anything around Luffy and Ace, who would steal your food given half the opportunity.

Within the next minute, Sabo was following Ivankov down the salty halls and toward their classroom.

Classroom... So not a physically inclined class then.

"Now, let's get a close look at you, Tophat-boy," Ivankov stated, and without pause, had Sabo's face in their hands, turning him to different angles as if studying his features closely, pushing the blondes cheeks together rather painfully, to the point where trying to speak would just come out as garbled murmurs.

"I've wanted to get you here for awhile now, you know, Dragon-boy didn't want to let you go through," Ivankov mentioned offhandedly as they stared at Sabo, finally letting go of his face.

Sabo took a few steps back, bringing his hands up and rubbing blood back into his face, "Miss Ivankov, what exactly will I be learning with you?"

"Stealth, sabotage, but mostly how to be irresistibly charming," Ivankov answered, giving flair to the answer by giving a little bit on their toes at the end and striking a pose.

The blonde had to wonder if Ivankov actually had any experience in that area, but if they taught this class that despite the unlikelihood of it than Ivankov was one of the best they had for teaching the subject. Sabo gave his new instructor a toothy grin, "I thought I was already charming, so I'm interested in what I will learn from you, Miss Ivankov."

Ivankov placed their hands on their chest as though physically struck, "See! That is what I mean Tophat-boy, Dragon-boy should have given you to me so long ago, we'd have you stealing the hearts of the Tenryūbito and making allies with all our enemies with just a smile. Oh, boyo you'll be my best piece of work to date~!"

Sabo grinned at the enthusiasm Ivankov was showing, "I don't exactly want to go around befriending Tenryūbito, they gave me quite the scar after all."

"The fact you can grin while saying that is part of my point!" Ivankov enthused, "One of the most important things I want to teach you is confidence. You seem to already have this done decently well, but the art of winning people over, of getting them to believe whatever you say, to have them eating out of your palm, is to be confident about yourself and what you are saying. It makes people want to believe you."

"Why am I the only person in this class?"

"I have my sights on many of you, specifically a lot of your friends. The reason you are the _only one_ here right now is that Dragon-boy doesn't like to let me have at you younger ones until you break at least seventeen. He allowed it for you, makes you wonder just what he has in mind for you does it, Tophat-boy." Ivankov mused.

Sabo honestly didn't really care what Dragon had in mind for him, because if it brought him closer to his own goal than he was okay with being used toward that goal. After all, Dragon hadn't been subtle in his want to use Sabo for both his ability and unique qualities.

"Beyond overall attitude and appearance, we also need to work on making you stealth ready." Ivankov continued to explain, "I am one of the best infiltrators that we have in the organization. This is in part due to my devil fruit, but also because of being able to hide accurately in the shadows, taking out guards silently, moving without making much noise. These are all things that you will learn with me. This is vital, as many missions required the skill. I sneak into Impel Down often enough to have formed a kingdom within it which I named Okama Paradise."

Sabo choked on nothing.

Ivankov regularly... snuck into... Impel Down...?

"Miss Ivankov I don't think I've heard of a more impressive feat in my entire life," Sabo claimed, and he doubted he was able to hide any of the world-shaking shock that he felt.

Gramps had talked enough about how the marines had made places like Enies Lobby, Marine Fort, and Impel Down essentially immune to subterfuge. It was one of his main talking points when he got more serious about trying to talk Sabo and his brothers around to marines being every bit as cool as pirates. It never worked, and knowing that Gramps was wrong to start with certainly didn't help that point.

Ivankov seemed pleased with the compliment, "For today's lesson, we will be going over how best to walk silently. From now on you should constantly attempt to walk like this as often as possible. During the lesson, you will try to keep your expression as unwaveringly confident as possible."

So both a lesson on emotional control and technique.

Sabo fixed a simper on his face as Ivankov nodded approvingly, "One of the biggest secrets to walking as silently as possible is rolling your foot instead of dragging or clopping down. Try to roll your foot with every step that you take..."

...

...

...

Sabo had never noticed just how loud he was when he moved before he started to actually pay attention to it. He quickly went from wearing heavy boots, to wearing something with a similar look, but soft and flexible on the bottom so that they didn't make as much noise on the floor.

Ivankov was an interesting instructor without a doubt.

There were tests of his emotional control, lessons on manners and how to act in certain situations, how to tell if a shadow would actually cover you completely, the quiet walking. The things that Ivankov taught certainly seemed like an interesting mix that didn't quite fit together. In some ways, there was overlap with Ivankov and the things that his parents had attempted to teach him. Though it wasn't apples or oranges, there were similar points. How you stand tall and don't slump, how to pick your vocabulary in certain situations.

Ultimately, it was a lot of things that helped Sabo bring his well-mannered teasing to a whole other level.

Some people didn't even notice he was insulting them at all anymore.

He'd already had his lesson from Ivankov that day and was heading down for more practice in destroying the landscape.

Strictly speaking, Sabo didn't care, but after being with Ivankov and getting those particular lessons for a few months he couldn't help but be curious.

"Dragon-san, what exactly do you have planned for me?"

Dragon grinned full out, something Sabo hadn't been expecting to ever see from the man, "Outlook Sabo, you are a valuable example against the government, and you are planning on leaving and becoming a pirate after working with us. A revolutionary working in the light of piracy... A former noble of all things."

The message that it sent, Sabo easily understood where it was going. It also explained the lessons that he was getting from Ivankov. Sabotage was one thing, but the manners? The things that had to do with image?

Dragon was planning on making him something of a figurehead for the Revolutionary Army.

"You have some very interesting ideas, Dragon-san," Sabo admitted, lost in thought somewhat as he thought over the information being relayed. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, in fact, it was something that his future captain should probably have a say in... Sabo would have to talk to Luffy about it at some point before they joined up.

"You'll need the strength to back it up. It's a risk, allowing someone who will know as much as you operate in the open."

Okay, no pressure or anything...

Sabo was starting to get a picture of just how dangerous this would be for him to undertake. That didn't change anything though, Sabo only felt more determined to reach the level of strength that he would need in order to help Dragon realize his vision. Just when had Sabo gotten so loyal to the man, it was a measure of loyalty that rivalled, though was still lower, than that he felt for his brothers.

"I'll try my best to live up to your expectations, Dragon-san." Sabo eventually managed with his signature grin.

...

...

...

_Ace, Luffy_

_It's been an interesting few months, but I met one of my goals only to have new ones put in front of me. I'll surpass those as well of course, but I'm still training hard. I'm sure that I could beat both of you in a spar, even if you teamed up against me now! Ace, you're probably in denial about this fact. It's okay, I'll let you live there like the wonderful brother that I am~_

_I learned a bit about the plan that the leader here has in store for me. Not sure how I feel about it exactly, but it brings me closer to my new dream, so I don't see why not. I'll definitely have to confirm some things with my future Captain at some point though. Just to make sure that some of the ideas I have are okay with him._

_I hope that you guys are doing well, I miss you all the time._

_Especially since I don't have one of my roommates around to tease. He was so nice to act as a stand-in for Ace, but he's been busy lately._

_Your favourite brother, Sabo_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: I decided to update Liberation and Adventures because it's been something like a month, and I did say that I would post within the month last time. Still, going forward updates to my stories are going to be a bit more sporadic. Working on some backend stuff. I'll still write more chapters, but it will be far slower going.
> 
> As for the vote on whether or not Sabo should have Conqueror's Haki, the vote is: 14 Yes / 6 No.
> 
> I'm curious, what did you think of the new One Piece chapter? Had me SHOCKED


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